When Legends Rise
by Dawn-Dusk
Summary: Preseries. Mandarin and Antauri awaken on Koraladol and train with the Varon Mystics. But when a new star is born, destiny compels them to find their missing siblings and their unknown home. By 38SouthernAngel89 & Hayley Cometra. Chapter Six is here!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Neili.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Something deep inside of him kept his systems functional, even though he had been in shutdown for a long time.

"Hey, wake up," a faint, light voice called to him, seeming very distant.

Something sparked within him, giving him a better grasp of reality.

"Hello?" the same voice pleaded. "Say something."

He groaned as his ocular orbs flickered on, and he looked at a figure not much taller than him. The figure was wearing a white robe that covered every part of the body except for the black hands. There was also a black mask with green markings for facial references. The voice within was young but clearly masculine.

"Oh, I was becoming worried that you wouldn't make it," the child sighed. "You've got scorch marks all over you. What happened?"

He moaned, rubbing his head slightly, before answering in his deep and profound voice, "I…I have no memory of recent events."

"Oh, you poor thing," the child replied, gently picking him up. "Let's get you and your friend out of here. I think my father may be able to help you."

"My…friend?"

But instead of answering, the child carried him out of the small cockpit, where both of them saw that the small ship was still smoking from an apparent crash in the open fields of emerald grass. Nearby was another ship, this one by far better resembling an army tank. One could easily identify that they were made by the same manufacturer, whoever that was, by the gray colors that dominated both. The small ship, however, had black sections of the front and had a large number 2 on each side; the tank had some areas just above the treads painted orange and had an emblem imprinted on each side.

Another figure sat outside the tank, barely conscious but very much alive. And the two immediately recognized each other.

"Mandarin!"

"Antauri!"

"Are you all right, Mandarin?"

"I believe so. No permanent damage. How about yourself, Antauri?"

"The same; no permanent damage."

"You two know each other?" the child asked.

"We should," the Orange Monkey replied. "We are brothers."

"You both look like you're in bad shape," the child replied as he held his hand towards Mandarin, who immediately felt psychic energy enveloping him and drawing him towards the white-robed figure. At first, he was afraid. But then he felt something familiar about this power and relaxed.

"I'll take you to my father's house," the child added as he carried them both.

- - - - - - - - -

Nightfall on Koraladol found every home peaceful and quiet with the exception of one. A distinguished Varonite man hovered from one side of the main room to the other, almost as if pacing. A woman about the same age as him sat at a table nearby. Two younger children were already tucked in for the night.

When the door opened, the two adults looked up, relief resting on both of them.

"Xan!" the man said, approaching the door as the child entered with the two monkeys. "Where have you been? Do you realize how worried your mother and I were?"

"I am sorry, Father," Xan replied. "But two spaceships crashed in the Emerald Fields, and these monkeys were inside. They're injured. Father, Mother, is there anything we can do to help them?"

"Outsiders…" the father said passively.

"Father, I can sense the Power Primate in them. Does that not make them our brothers? We must help them."

_Power Primate?_ Mandarin asked in thought. _Is that what feels so familiar to me?_

But he had no time to ponder on that as the man approached. Just like the child Xan, both the mother and the father were dressed and masked in the same way as he was. But both Antauri and Mandarin could almost sense as the man held his hand over each of them that he was probing them to see if they were any threat.

"You are right, Xan," the man answered when he was done. "They do have the Power Primate. Very well, we shall nurse them back to health. My dear?"

The woman stood up and approached. She held up her hands and used her telekinesis to pick up Antauri and bring him to her tender but powerful arms. "Don't be afraid, my little friend. If you are lost, you could not be lost at a better place. This is the safest planet in the cosmos, and the Power Primate is stronger here than anywhere else in the universe. Welcome to Koraladol, Jewel World of the Varon Mystics."

As the man did the same for Mandarin, he looked down at him and added, "I am Master Xao, High Mystic of the Varonite Temple. The temple is where masters of the Power Primate are reared up. Xan is my firstborn and next in line. But since both of you have the Power Primate, there is no reason why you cannot be taught in our ways if you so choose.

"But for tonight, a meal and some sleep. In the morning, I shall take some of the other Mystics to retrieve your ships and bring them into the city. What you do afterwards is your own affair."

- - - - - - - - -

In the years that followed, every Mystic in the temple recognized the skill and strength that both Mandarin and Antauri had. Although both became accomplished fighters who mastered the basics of telekinesis and telepathy easily, it became obvious that Antauri preferred spending his time either in the library with a book on philosophy or in the meditation room figuring out a mind puzzle rather than practicing his battle skills in the arena with Mandarin.

Also during that time, as part of his training for being the High Mystic, Xan became their tutor in learning the ways of the Mystics, the ways of the Power Primate. It surprised him to see how easily they learned how to focus on their inner selves and unleash the animal within, since he had thought that both of them were more robot than monkey.

And it came to pass that while Xan was finishing his apprenticeship, Antauri looked up into the night sky and marveled at a rare and beautiful sight, while Mandarin was meditating nearby.

"Mandarin, look!"

"Yes, I see it…"

"A new star is born!"

"How brightly it shines…"

"What does this mean?"

"It means that what will come to pass must happen soon."

Antauri looked at his older brother, confused.

Mandarin opened his eyes. "I saw a planet in the solar system where that star is. I saw a city on that planet. And I saw us standing in the midst of the city…all six of us."

"Six?" Antauri echoed in surprise. "If there are six of us, why do we not remember the other four?"

"Think about it, my brother. When Xan first found us and you awoke to his voice, you didn't remember me until you actually saw me. There may have been some kind of defect in our programming when we apparently crashed here. Whatever the case, we must take action soon."

"Action?"

"We must leave here to find our brothers."

"Leave Koraladol?!"

"We must find them and go to that planet, that city. That is where we belong."

"But what about Xan?" Antauri asked tenderly. "His training is not yet complete."

The look in Mandarin's ocular orbs was sympathetic but stern. "Can you not feel it in your soul? We have a destiny. The time to fulfill it is soon coming."

Antauri paused for several minutes, then he conceded and slowly nodded.

- - - - - - - - -

The news hit all of the Mystics hard, but not as much as it did for the surrogate family. The mother even cried, although her tears were never seen. Xao didn't approve of their decision, but he supported them. Xan took the news the hardest.

One night, the last night before the departure, Xan screamed and quickly sat up in his bed, weeping bitterly. The door quickly opened, and Xao entered with Mandarin and Antauri close behind.

"My son, what is it?" Xao asked, sitting next to the bed.

"Father…I had a vision," Xan began, still sobbing. "I…I saw Brother Antauri injured and falling into a pit. At the bottom was the egg of a Dark One ready to hatch!"

Xao gently rubbed his firstborn's back. "Shh. Come now, Xan. The Dark Ones were imprisoned millennia ago, and Brother Antauri is safe and well right here. Now, go back to sleep, my son. You have a big day tomorrow. You do not wish to be drowsy as you bid Brother Mandarin and Brother Antauri farewell, do you?" But without waiting for an answer, he left the room.

Xan noticed that Mandarin and Antauri lingered behind. "Aren't you going to sleep as well?"

"Your nightmare troubles you deeply," Mandarin replied.

The adolescent nodded. "I fear it bodes ill. Will we ever see each other again?"

"What does your heart tell you?" Antauri asked.

After a pause, he replied, "It tells me…I think so…yes…I guess…"

With a small smile, the Black Monkey answered, "Then we shall see each other again."

But Xan was not satisfied with this. Knowing what the young Varon wanted, Mandarin groaned and rolled his eyes before leaving the room.

Antauri sighed in slight disappointment. "Mandarin never really was the sentimental type," he commented as he floated up and approached the bed.

Xan smiled and watched Antauri coming up to him. It made him slight jealous since this was a reminder that Antauri and Mandarin had mastered levitating before he did, but it also made him admire the two Monkeys whom he saw as his brothers even more.

Although his mask kept his tears very well hidden, Xan suddenly grabbed Antauri and hugged him close, beginning to snuggle with him like any child would their favorite stuffed animal. "I wish you didn't have to go…but I do hope you find your brothers."

Antauri hugged Xan back and whispered, "Thank you. But know that you will always be my brother as well. And I know that someday, you shall become the most powerful High Mystic that Koraladol has ever seen."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

Authors' Note: Sorry we didn't elaborate on this earlier, but this story is written through a joint account of two authors who were somwhat favored among the other authors here: 38SouthernAngel89 and Hayley Cometra! Please read and review this; we both worked real hard together to bring this to you!

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**Chapter Two**

Soft snores could be heard coming from a small hammock, no one was in the room except for him. He enjoyed sleeping in and did it quite often, unless…

"Hey!" shouted the gruff voice from a man. He didn't even bother to open the door, as he pounded hard on it. "Get up, ya lazy bum!"

"Time to work…" he chuckled lazily. He jumped off the hammock, ran out the door, and made his way to his spacecraft. It had been difficult to learn to fly this kind of ship, since the ship that he used to fly was still in the jungle. They hadn't had time to retrieve that ship. He wasn't sure why exactly, but he didn't push his boss's buttons.

"Get a move on, Sparky!" the boss ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" he grinned as he jumped into the ship and took off.

It seemed like only yesterday when SPRX-77 revived on the small planet of Mowgli. For a while, he had stayed in the jungle and tried to fit in with other monkeys he had found. But after being rejected by them and getting bored, he had begun to venture out of the jungle and explore the outskirts of a city.

Among the spacecrafts that were parked outside the city gates, there was a collection of jet-like ships: VZ3X star speeders. It was love a first sight for him. With a mischievous chatter, he had picked the lock on one of them and climbed into the cockpit, where he played with the steering controls. Fortunately, he didn't touch anything else, so nothing was damaged.

But how mad the owner was when he and his companions had returned. They seemed to have been in a bit of a hurry when they came, so the owner quickly took Sprx by the neck and threw him roughly into a cage. Then, after hastily throwing the rest of their cargo into their jets, the pilots took off and returned to the mother ship.

Sprx had expected the worst when the pilot brought the cage to their boss. But instead of being angry with him, the superior smiled at him. He had seen clever creatures before, but nothing clever enough to not only pick a lock and break into a ship but also not to touch anything that could hurt him while he played with the steering controls.

He saw much potential in him.

In the years that followed, Sprx was carefully supervised through the same training that all of the other pilots went through. It didn't take long for him to become the best pilot among them.

He had wondered for a long time what he was training for, and he found out one day when alarms rang throughout the mother ship. Everyone except for himself and the boss had jumped into their jets. Sprx had watched longingly from the boss's window as the space jets tore apart a cargo ship. Sprx wanted to help them, but the boss merely chuckled and assured him that it wouldn't be long before he would join them.

And after he had started to help destroy a cargo ship for its valuables, he had become an invaluable asset to their team.

"_Sprx, take out their engines, then their weapons system!"_ the boss ordered through his com-link, interrupting the trip down memory lane.

"Aw, we can't have a little fun with 'em first?" Sprx whined.

He heard his boss chuckle then reply, _"Not this time, next time, my boy."_

With a smile, Sprx snuck around to the engine room and shot out the ship's main engine. He then located the weapons system and destroyed it.

"Done and done," he said proudly, then parked his jet near the others and joined the crew as they boarded the now destroyed ship.

As the others grabbed the loot, Sprx decided to take a look around. "Nothing much le—" Sprx was interrupted by a cry from a baby. "Huh? That can't be right, nothing but cargo should be on this ship…"

He followed the crying until he found the source and gasped at what he saw. There, huddled in pain and in fear, was a family among the wreckage: a man with several cuts on his arm, a woman bruised in several places, and their hungry baby daughter.

"Aw man, I gotta get the others, they'll know what to do," he whispered and ran back to his crewmates. He had them follow him to the family and asked what they could do for them.

"What else?" one gruff man replied. "Get rid of 'em! We leave no survivors!" And pointed his gun to the family.

The woman gasped in fright.

"I don't think so!" Sprx countered, activating his magnets and pulling the gun from his hands. As he threw it into a fire nearby, the crew looked at each other in shock. Then they looked at Sprx again and quickly brought out their guns.

"Mutiny!" one yelled, and they all roared with rage. Sprx growled and pulled their guns out of their hands and threw them all into the fire. You'd think that without their guns, they'd quit, but they only growled furiously and brought out swords with blades made of light and attacked.

The battle seemed to have lasted for hours. But no matter if it was hours or minutes, Sprx panted heavily as he defeated the last of the crewmembers.

He turned to the family. "Hurry! They'll be more where that came from. Follow me!"

The husband and wife looked at each other before following the red Robot Monkey.

"Come on, come on!" he rushed them, taking them to his ship. Once they were in, he quickly explained to the man how to fly it, then watched them take off.

"There, there he is!" a man yelled and more shouts were heard. Sprx gasped, jumped into the nearest jet, and took off.

"What have I done?" he questioned himself. "How many more families, how many more babies, have I…killed?" he questioned himself and shuddered at the thought of all the ships he destroyed.

"I don't deserve to live!" he sighed to himself and headed for a planet he knew well. "There's only one thing to do…"

- - - - - - - - -

"Are we certain we're at the correct location?" Antauri asked as they entered the outskirts of the city.

"Yes, Antauri," Mandarin replied simply. "The signal that we have been tracking has led us to this jungle planet Mowgli. It's far too dangerous to land in the jungle itself, and this was the nearest city. Logically speaking, the first of our brothers must be here."

The pair entered through the city gates and slowly looked around. Although there was a slight variety in the locals and visitors, they noticed that almost everyone gave them a very queer stare. Both of them felt strangely uncomfortable with the looks everyone was giving them, so they didn't stay in one place any longer than was necessary.

What was even stranger was that every time they asked someone any questions about another one like themselves, the civilians gave them the cold shoulder.

Finally, after about an hour of questioning, Mandarin spotted a man whose attire and appearance gave him the impression of authority or law enforcement.

"Pardon me, sir," he began, "but we are looking for someone who resembles us."

At first, the officer gave them the same stare, except this time a sense of mistrust toward these two was also hidden within. Slowly and cautiously, he removed a pen and some paper. He began taking notes, asking them in reply, "You mean SPRX-77, the Jet Pirate Monkey? All right, what did he steal from you?"

"I beg your pardon?" Mandarin asked.

"We have not been robbed," Antauri stated.

The look in the officer's eyes changed, but not for the better. His frown became slightly deeper as he said, "Then, judging by your appearances, I would say you are his accomplices. Came to turn yourselves in?"

"We are not involved in any illegal activity," the Black Monkey calmly answered. "We are simply looking for him, that is all."

"I'm not surprised," the officer told him. "Everyone is looking for him. Just like the other Jet Pirates, he has given us the slip many times. If you aren't his accomplices, then I would watch myself if I were you two. And if you do find him, be sure you inform us immediately. There's a huge price on his head."

Before giving either of them a chance to respond, the officer had walked away.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, Mandarin looked at Antauri. "Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all…"

"Or perhaps there was a misunderstanding," Antauri was quick to reply. "Surely our brother cannot be consorting among pirates. And even if he was, he is still one of our own. I suggest we continue interviewing the citizens but carefully."

"Very well."

After that, the pair took turns; while one was asking anyone any questions, the other stood in casual lookout for anything or anyone that might hinder their efforts.

A few hours later, they had a new lead. This time, it was not in the city itself but back at the outskirts bordering the jungle.

"SPRX-77?" the man asked as he rested his cart, which was littered with all kinds of handmade metal jewelry. "Yeah, I see him now and then. He always came alone. He teased me sometimes about using his magnets to steal my jewelry for the ladies. At first, I thought he meant it; but then I found he was only joking. You could say that he has a magnetic personality."

"What else can you tell us about him?" Mandarin asked.

The man hesitated. "I was sorry when I heard that he was flying with the Jet Pirates. He deserves better. He deserves a family, a better one than the one he used to fly with."

"Used to?" Antauri inquired.

"Word on the street is that he escaped from them and is on the run. Local rumors claim that he's hiding somewhere in the jungle, maybe hoping that some predator would eat him."

The man then gave a low chuckle. "Like any wild animal would kill something that isn't another wild animal. I would go in and take care of him myself, but the jungle is a dangerous place."

Mandarin and Antauri looked at each other, both thinking the same thought. They quickly thanked the man for his information and tore into the trees.

- - - - - - - - -

Sprx sighed as he looked around. He had tried exposing himself to the elements, but his emergency systems kept him cool during the hot days and warm during the cold nights. He had tried making himself available to wild animals, but every single creature he encountered ran away in fear. He had tried starving himself, but even the bananas looked too good to pass up.

Finally, he came up with the perfect and fitting way to end his living nightmare.

"Well…" he said to himself. "It's been real…and I wish it hadn't."

With that, he pushed the boulder that was next to him off the cliff. Tied to the boulder was a vine, and his ankle was tied with the other end. In moments, the boulder dragged him off the cliff and plunged him into the midnight blue lake. Where the surface was darkest, the lake was deepest.

And he didn't activate his oxygen mask.

As the rays of sunshine slowly disappeared from his view as the boulder sent him deeper and deeper into the water, so did his rays of hope.

_At least I'll die with my two biggest fears: in the water and in pitch-black,_ he thought to himself as he started to feel his lungs collapsing.

But just before he blacked out and started to drown, he could have sworn he saw a pair of sharp-clawed paws glowing an intense bright green.

Swish, slash, and Antauri had cut the vine that connected Sprx to the boulder. He gingerly wrapped one arm around the limp body and quickly used his rocketpack to send him back to the surface. He took very good care not to hold him so tight that he would accidentally free what little air was still left in his lungs.

The instant he broke the surface, he flew to the far side of the lake, where Mandarin awaited. Antauri placed Sprx's body down in a way that he was sitting between the two with his back to Antauri. The white pupils in his eyes had disappeared, and water slowly trickled from his slightly open mouth.

"Is he alive?" Mandarin asked.

"I sense that he is," Antauri replied. "However, he had been submerged within the lake for several minutes. His systems are in emergency shutdown. Perhaps if I reboot his cerebrum…"

"How do you—?" he started to say, but suddenly stopped himself when Antauri held up one hand. Instead of transforming into the ghost claws he usually used, the fingers and palms immediately retracted into the arm, and a tool emerged in its place. It was somewhat large, a little thick, and had several connectors in the middle.

Mandarin saw this design before. It matched the socket that was on the back of Antauri's head. He took a quick glance and found that this Red Monkey had the same socket. Having not noticing this until now, he felt along the back of his head to find the same socket.

Antauri inserted the tool into the back of their new acquaintance's head, and a beeping sound immediately followed. The white pupils began to reappear, but the monkey immediately began coughing and gasping to get rid of the rest of the water that was in his lungs.

As soon as that was done, the Red Monkey locked eyes with the Orange Monkey's. Immediately, he shot a glare at Mandarin before shoving him away from him. "Why did you do that?!" he snarled, struggling to get up.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Mandarin yelled back. "If it weren't for us, you would have perished!"

"Then you've wasted your time and mine!"

"You ungrateful little—!"

"I'm outta here!"

And before Mandarin and Antauri realized it, he shot to his feet and ran down a random direction.

"Stop!" Antauri yelled, holding his hand up.

Sprx gasped in shock, for although his feet were still moving, he wasn't going centimeter further. He looked down to find that a psychic power was holding him off the ground. He whimpered in the tiniest hint of fear as Antauri used his telekinesis to turn him around while still holding him off the ground.

"SPRX-77, I presume?" Antauri asked.

Glaring rudely, Sprx crossed his arms and asked in reply, "What's it to you?"

"Just answer the question," Mandarin said, trying to remain calm.

Sprx scoffed at them. "And what if I am SPRX-77?"

"Then we have found the first of our brothers," Mandarin answered.

"You got to be kidding me," Sprx immediately said. "I don't have any brothers."

"If that is the truth, how would you explain our uncanny resemblance to one another?" Antauri calmly asked, trying to use logic to his advantage.

With a confident grin, the Red Monkey answered, "Easy. I'm so handsome that you two copied my look."

Both Mandarin and Antauri glared at him in disapproval, not the slightest bit convinced.

However, Antauri decided to try this from a different approach. "May I ask the reason you tied the vine and rock to your ankle and tried to kill yourself?" he asked.

Immediately, Sprx's smile faded and his head hung low. "I was righting a terrible wrong, me being alive," he replied. "I'm a liar, a thief…a murderer…"

Antauri and Mandarin's expressions changed to sympathy and concern. "SPRX-77, you may have done wrong but you don't have to do away with yourself to make it right." Mandarin told him.

"What else is there to do? No one cares if I live or die, anyway. I have no one to turn to…"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Antauri replied with a smile. "There are those who care if you live or die."

"Oh yeah, who?" Sprx asked.

"Us!" Antauri and Mandarin answered.

Sprx looked at them in surprise.

"You ARE our brother," Mandarin said. "Come with us, help us find our three missing brothers that remain, and together we can pool our individual skills protect the universe."

And for the first time in a long while, SPRX-77 found peace inside his soul. He had wondered where his destiny lies, and for a long time he didn't really care, since he never got his answer right away. But upon hearing the words 'protect the universe', he felt his heart yearning for acceptance again. And he felt like he belonged with these two.

With the first genuine smile that he had for a long time, he nodded. Antauri slowly placed him back on the ground. Putting a hand on his chest, he said, "Yep, name's SPRX-77, but you can call me Sprx."

- - - - - - - - -

"There it is!" Sprx yelled excitedly as he dashed ahead.

Antauri and Mandarin watched as their newfound brother jumped onto what looked like a giant bush with its branches tangled up. They watched in confusion as he began to pull on one of the vines.

Only when one of the branches snapped off and they saw a glitter of silver and red did they realize what he was doing. Mandarin activated his sword, and Antauri transformed his claws, and together, all three freed what looked almost like a cube with flat silver wings along the top and a single cannon in the middle of the bottom. On each side were red panels that matched his fur; this was obviously his ship made by the same manufacturer as their own ships.

"Ha ha!" Sprx cheered. "My pride and joy, you've been abandoned by those who used to be my teammates so that nature could bury you. Well, never in a millennium! Fist Rocket Three, you're back in business!"

"Fist Rocket Three?" Mandarin asked.

"Well, that's what I call her," Sprx grinned in reply. "Three is my lucky number. And when I flew her before, she punches through the sky like a fist! Yee-ha!"

He then noticed the strange looks they were giving him. "What? You don't give your ships names?"

Antauri thought about this for a few moments. "We never thought about it before, but perhaps it would be wise if we identify our vessels with individual names."

Mandarin smiled. "I agree. Now, Sprx, our vessels are outside the jungle. Shall we meet you in the atmosphere?"

"Bet on it!"

* * *

_Replies to the Reviews! (Note: "Dawn" is 38SouthernAngel89 and "Dusk" is Hayley Cometra.)_

**To beautybelle300256:  
**From Dawn: Thank you very much!

From Dusk: Yep, thanks! If you thought the first chapter was good, this second chapter is more alike to the chapters you guys will be reading soon!

**To Dark Fox Tailz:  
**From Dawn: Thanks for the review. Yes, bug Hayley, we need more of her wonderful stories!

From Dusk: Yes, it's been a long time since I've written anything…officially. After I finished my third story, I had a serious case of writer's block. In hopes to break it, I did write several of the original episodes to include my OC. After that, I had several issues, both in the fandom and personal issues. Now that most of those are through, I'm hoping to get back to business with my series soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"Are we there yet?" Sprx asked after the newly formed trio flew across the expanses of space for several hours.

_"SPRX-77, for the hundredth time: no, we're not!"_ Mandarin demanded through the communicator, feeling as though another headache was coming on. _"We don't even know where we're going. Now would you please stop asking?"_

Sprx groaned as he followed his two new teammates, his new brothers. He really shouldn't complain; after all, this was a chance to right his wrongdoings. But he was bored, in the middle of space, knowing nothing but that there were more like him out there and that he was to help find them.

"Well, can I at least ask if we've picked up any signals?" Sprx asked in a testy tone.

_"…Yes, I've detected one,"_ Antauri replied after a few minutes of silence. _"It matches the signal that Mandarin and I and received from your ship, Sprx. We should arrive at the planet with this new signal in just under an hour if we stay on this course."_

_"Very good, Antauri,"_ Mandarin complimented. _"Happy now, Sprx?"_

"Yes, thanks for asking," Sprx sarcastically replied. But after another minute of boredom, he asked, "Why don't we just go into hyperdrive? We'll get there faster."

And without waiting for an approval, he switched the Fist Rocket Three into hyperdrive and took off.

- - - - - - - - -

"SPRX-77!" Mandarin screeched.

_"We have to follow him, Mandarin,"_ Antauri replied through his communicator, his voice calm but stern.

"Yes, I know, Antauri, but when I get my paws of that impatient little…" He sighed, having to mentally restrain himself from bursting in anger. "Activate hyperdrive."

In a matter of seconds, they both took off at hyper speed.

- - - - - - - - -

"All right, I think I'm close enough," Sprx said to himself as he deactivated the hyperdrive. However, he quickly found out that he had flown too far and the signal was gone.

"Uh oh…" he muttered and then tried to make contact. "Anybody there? Sprx to Antauri, Sprx to Mandarin come in! … I'm in trouble…"

Sprx gulped when he made no one replied. He was in the middle of who knows where, alone and lost.

"Story of my life…" he sighed.

But when the alarm went off telling him that two ships were coming up in hyperdrive, he sighed again in relief this time, knowing it was Mandarin and Antauri.

Both Orange and Black Monkeys shut off each of their hyperdrive when they reached the Fist Rocket Three.

"Hey guys, I—"

_"SPRX-77!"_ Mandarin chastised, using only a moment to think of any name-calling he could use. _"You impatient, feeble-minded, childish monkey! You couldn't be patient for one hour, could you, Sparky?!"_

Sprx was at first ashamed and a little hurt, but quickly became angry at a reminder of his past that he would rather forget. "Don't EVER call me Sparky!" he growled.

_"Please, can we remain calm?"_ Antauri interjected, trying to keep them mutually agreeable since neither Sprx nor Mandarin started off on the right foot for each other. _"Sprx, while we were catching up with you, I was able to pinpoint the exact planet where the signal is emanating. It is coming from the planet Aquarius. We will arrive shortly."_

For some reason, Sprx didn't like the sound of the name. "Uh…Aquarius?"

_"What do we know about the planet, Antauri?"_ Mandarin asked.

_"Over 90 percent of the planet is seawater, and the scarce islands are uninhabited,"_ Antauri answered.

"I hope that all we find down there are mermaids," Sprx joked uneasily.

_"Unlikely, Sprx,"_ Antauri replied. _"According to the historical data, the first settlers on this planet were land-dwellers who were testing the technology of ion bubbles as a means for a constant and stable source of oxygen, thereby making them ideal for underwater cities."_

_"Where is the source of the signal?"_ Mandarin asked.

Sprx looked up at his monitor, his scanners now picking what Antauri's was already analyzing. "It looks like it's coming from a city that is more than 50,000 square meters wide…and 20,000 mega-fathoms below the surface. How are we gonna get down there? I don't feel like using our underwater mode…"

_"One day, you may have to, Sprx,"_ Antauri said calmly. _"But today, it is unnecessary. Our vehicles have the ability to travel through water as easily as any submarine. And we will need our scanners."_

_"Activate exterior lighting,"_ Mandarin ordered. _"We're going under."_

Sprx cringed when his monitor displayed more and more water as his ship flew closer and closer to the surface. He flinched when his ship rumbled slightly in reaction to the dive down. He was almost afraid that his ship was taking on water, but he realized that it was airtight enough to survive the vacuum of space, surely it could survive the underwater pressure of the ocean.

It took the trio about ten minutes to reach their destination, and when they did, what a sight it was to behold. The city in question consisted of hundreds of thousands of yellow-tinted ion bubbles, each varying in size. Some were small, only about twice as big as Mandarin's vehicle. Others were huge, making the mother ship of the Jet Pirates look small in comparison. And still others were massive.

None of the three had ever seen such a sight.

Traffic in the underwater city was very much the same as for driving on a street. Long lines of buoys chained to stones formed two massive lanes, and underwater crafts of all shapes and sizes were swimming in these lanes. At intersections, turns were taken in quarters instead of halves. (If traffic on land was crazy enough when the only ways to go were forward, backward, left, right; imagine how much more so it would be when you have to consider what is above and below you as well. That's why turns were taken in quarters.)

One would think that pedestrians and stray animals wouldn't be an issue in underwater traffic. While that may be true in a literal sense, a whole new level of the same issue became realized in the underwater streets of Aquarius: divers and fish schools. Sprx became startled more than once when anything he didn't expected popped into view.

In addition to that, Sprx was almost afraid that Antauri and Mandarin would end up being at one side of an intersection and he would be on the other just as a turn would be over, but the pair made certain that all three stuck together. They tracked the signal carefully, navigating through the water, until they reached one of the more heavily trafficked areas.

_"The signal is coming from this dock connected to this massive ion bubble,"_ Mandarin reported.

_"Curious,"_ Antauri commented. _"We have arrived at the Aquarius Intergalactic Academy of Oceanography."_

"Great, and we're just a trio of fish ready for a school reunion," Sprx joked.

_"Let's dock and search for the ship,"_ Mandarin suggested. _"Then we can find the pilot and our second brother."_

"We can't dock here," Sprx suddenly said.

_"Why not?"_ Antauri asked.

Intensifying one of his lights, Sprx indicated a sign that was next to the dock entrance. Since they were programmed with the familiarity of all languages, all three easily read the alien sign: "Student Docking Only".

Mandarin sighed. _"Very well. Let's search for a Visitors' Dock and investigate the premises."_

- - - - - - - - -

It took them a little while to find a place to dock that was relatively close to the Student Dock where they found the signal. They each docked in individual cells that weren't much bigger than their own ships. And the instant the door locked behind them, the water drained out.

Sprx was relieved when he saw that; at least he wouldn't wander aimlessly in water to find a way inside. When he left his cockpit, he found that there was only one place to go in this cube of waterproof metal. An elevator door opened for him, and he stepped in to go up.

As he traveled through the tube made of thick but see-through glass; he became both afraid and awed at the underwater scenery before him. Everything outside was lighted by artificial light since they were too deep below the surface for daylight to shine. But most of the lighting simulated daylight very well, so much that Sprx could hardly tell the difference.

He didn't have long to fully appreciate the simply beauty of the scene before the metal connector at the end of the tube overlapped the glass. In seconds, another elevator door opened, and Sprx stepped through to find himself inside the massive ion bubble.

He was standing in a hallway that was somewhat crowded with a wider variety of aliens than Sprx had ever seen. All of them were, in one way or another, carrying books or supplies and were on their way to one classroom or another.

Two elevator doors near him opened, and Mandarin and Antauri joined him. "Hey, what took you so long?" he chuckled.

Ignoring his levity for the moment, Mandarin walked past his two brothers and walked up to a desk. Instead of a receptionist, however, a holographic image of a man appeared.

"_Welcome to the Aquarius Intergalactic Academy of Oceanography, where knowledge is power,"_ the image said with a computerized voice. _"What service can be provided for you today?"_

"We are looking for a student who attends this academy," Antauri stated.

"_Please input student's personal identification label."_

"Personal identification label?" Sprx asked.

"I believe he is referring to his name," Mandarin offered his best suggestion. "We actually don't know his name. All we do know is that he resembles us."

Immediately, a spherical device emerged from the desk. A red, flat laser light activated and began going up and down along Mandarin's body, much to the monkeys' surprise.

"_Scanning user,"_ the computer stated. _"Accessing image reference matrix. Please wait. _… _One match found."_ Immediately, the holographic man vanished, and in its place was the image of a blue Robot Monkey. _"Personal identification label: Mr. Hal Gibson. Class: Senior Graduate. Degree: Master of Applied Science for Propulsion Theories. Current location: Lecture Hall Z27."_

The holographic image changed again to display a 3-D grid map. On the map, an orange marker appeared to identify their location, a yellow line to identify directions, and a blue marker to identify the lecture hall. _"Go straight up this hallway, turn at the third left, enter the elevator, go up eight levels, and Lecture Hall Z27 is the ninth door on your right."_

"Thank you," Mandarin stated simply. They began to walk away from the desk.

_"You're welcome. Please enjoy your visit at the Aquarius Intergalactic—"_

"Sprx, slow down," Antauri called after the Red Monkey, who ran off without waiting for the computer to finish.

"What's your hurry?" Mandarin asked when he and Antauri caught up with Sprx.

"This place," Sprx stated simply, slight angst in his voice. "I don't like it. Water everywhere. Eggheads, too. And this one of our brothers is probably just like them."

"Sprx, don't be disrespectful," Antauri berated as they began to follow the directions given to them. "One should anticipate the odds that at least one of our own would have extreme intellect. We will need someone like him."

Sprx crossed him arms and bitterly replied, "Doesn't mean I have to like him."

"No one said you have to," Mandarin replied with a smirk. "After all, you and I apparently don't like each other."

Caught off guard by the joke, Sprx looked at Mandarin and slowly began to laugh.

About ten minutes later, the trio arrived at the floor where the lecture halls were. They walked down the corridor to find the one they were looking for, but they had to enter quietly when they did. The class consisting of more than one hundred students was taking a thesis test, where everything in a lecture from data to presentation was being graded. The professors were sitting at the front row, and anyone outside the class who was willing to listen to the lectures was welcome.

The three monkeys silently entered the lecture hall and sat at the back row. Mandarin activated his binocular vision and scanned the room. It didn't take long to find who they were looking for; the Blue Monkey Gibson stood at the stage of the lecture hall with a display of complicated equations and massive diagrams. The diagrams seemed to resemble an engine of some sort.

"Is that he?" Antauri asked softly.

"I believe so," Mandarin whispered in reply.

"Why are we whispering?" Sprx asked, although still keeping the quiet tone. "And why can't we just walk up there? If he's here, then let's just get him get out of here."

Mandarin shot the Red Monkey a glare. "We are visitors, guests. And they are currently being tested. It is not our place to interrupt."

Sprx groaned as the lecture began. The voice belonging to their speaker was refined and well mannered; much too boring for Sprx's taste. He didn't even bother to listen.

- - - - - - - - -

About 20 minutes into the lecture, Mandarin and Antauri continued to listen to the voice of their speaker several meters below them.

At this point, Antauri noticed a light sound. He looked over to his right, where Sprx was…asleep. With a sigh, he gently began to shake Sprx's shoulder.

"Huh, what?" Sprx asked, his voice a little snappy.

"Sprx, don't be disrespectful," Antauri quietly warned. "Your snoring was starting to become increasingly obvious."

Growling lightly, Sprx suddenly shouted, "Hey! I can't help it! I mean, look at these eggheads! Only they would be strong enough to survive a boring lecture like this!"

Antauri quickly cleared his throat.

With a sweatdrop, Sprx suddenly looked around. All eyes were on him. He chattered and chuckled with a nervous wave.

The Blue Monkey pouted slightly. He was about to look for whoever dared to interrupt and react, but he noticed that the professors were starting to turn back in his direction. He suddenly realized that any notable scientist must be prepared to accept the worst of criticisms. He calmly cleared his throat and resumed the lecture: "And so, when one factors in the superconductive properties of H2O and the mathematical complexities that relate magnetism to electricity, we can easily understand the theoretical basis for a magneto-hydro ion drive to be a reliable propulsion system for traveling through both the ocean and space. Any questions?"

When all was silent, the room broke out into light applause, to which Gibson smiled and gave a small but respectful bow.

"Excellent, Mr. Hal Gibson," one of the professors stated. "I believe this concludes thesis tests for today. We will continue the rest of the tomorrow and give you your grades afterwards. Dismissed."

As the students slowly gathered their belongings and filed out of the lecture hall, Mandarin and Antauri glared at Sprx. "Well, thank you very much for making this a completely humiliating experience, Sparky."

"DON'T call me that," Sprx snarled.

"Please," Antauri calmly told them since he was still sitting between the two. "Let us now make the attempt to make contact with Mr. Hal Gibson while he is somewhat isolated. Besides, Sprx, I believe you owe him an apology."

"But, I—" Sprx began to stammer but quickly learned that there was no way he was getting out of this.

The three Monkeys descended down the stairs that led to the stage just as the Blue Monkey finished putting away his materials. His back was to them.

"Mr. Hal Gibson, I presume?" Mandarin asked. "Our brother owes you an apology. Go ahead, Sprx."

Sprx groaned lightly in disgust. "I'm s…ugh, I'm s-s…I'm s-s-s-s-s-sorry."

The Blue Monkey had been ready at this point to turn around and look at those who were speaking to him, but the stammering from Sprx was making him chuckle, and he stood still to keep the humor from showing. "Think nothing of it," he stated. "In fact, my calm reaction to the diversion may be an asset to my assessment."

Sprx growled at barely understanding a word he said. "Speak monkey, will you, egghead?"

It was then that the scientist growled and began to turn around. "I beg your pardon?! I am not an egg…head…?" And he had slowed down his speech when he looked at them. Like Sprx, he had never in his life met anyone who resembled him. "It's…uncanny…" he whispered.

"Pretty scary, huh?" Sprx smirked. "Don't worry about it; I was kinda scared when they found me, too."

"We actually came looking specifically for you, Mr. Hal Gibson," Mandarin stated.

"Please, do not call me Mister nor Hal, just Gibson."

"Very well," Mandarin stated. "My name is Mandarin. These are my brothers, Antauri and SPRX-77 aka Sprx. And you, apparently, are also our brother."

Gibson stood very still when he heard that. "Well…" he began, for this was the first time in his life that he was at a loss for words. "Now that you have found me, what do you intend to do?"

Antauri sighed. "We were hoping that you would accompany us in search for two more of our own, our unknown home, our unseen destiny…"

"I see…"

"Doesn't that scare you?" Sprx asked.

"Of course it does," Gibson calmly replied. "I find myself quite frightened. However, in a way, it is also a relief. For the past several months, I have found my scientific endeavors to be decreasing in stamina. Somehow, my passion has slowly been lost and depression was setting. But, one night almost a week ago, I was in my vehicle for one of my rare trips above the sea surface when I happened to see a new star in the sky. For some reason, gazing upon that specific star gave me hope…"

"Really?" Sprx asked, now more serious than cynical. "Now that you mention it…I think I saw a star that…I don't know, made me feel different, like something was happening."

Gibson smirked confidently. "Actually, Sprx, the more accurate saying would be 'something that has already happened'. The light of a star travels the vast stellar distances at a tremendous speed, yet even so it takes a year for it to cross nearly 9.46 trillion kilometers."

Sprx waved his hands dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. The point is, I saw that star the night before I met Mandarin and Antauri."

"Based on this new information, I'm guessing that all six of us have seen the same star and have felt an individual call of destiny," Mandarin stated. "And now that we have found you, Gibson, that destiny is one step closer to being fulfilled."

"And yet…" Gibson started, seemingly sad. "To leave all that I have endeavored to obtain…"

Sprx grinned. "Hey, think of it this way, Dr. Brain Strain: you'll be leaving hundreds of eggheads to become the smartest member of the family."

Gibson frowned in disapproval.

- - - - - - - - -

_"Daylight…"_ Gibson heard Sprx sigh happily as the four of them left the sea surface. _"Sunshine… Fresh air…"_

"Sprx…" Gibson said, his tone exasperated. "Our vehicles are airtight."

_"So? I can almost smell it."_

_"Enjoy the sunshine while you can, Sprx,"_ Mandarin commented. _"We'll be leaving orbit soon to track our next signal."_

"Mandarin, could you do me a favor and send me the signal code we are searching for?" Gibson asked. "I may be able to calibrate for this specific signal and narrow our search down, thus saving us time."

_"It will be my pleasure, Gibson,"_ the Orange Monkey replied.

In a matter of moments, Gibson was using his tail to begin the calibration. But just as he started, something on one of his monitors caught his eye. _"We appear to have visitors,"_ he reported. _"Several ships off the port bow on an intercept course."_

_"Can you identify—?"_ Antauri started to ask, but an explosion cut him off before he could finish.

_"We're under attack!"_ Mandarin yelled. _"Gibson, report!"_

"The ships are VZ3X star speeders, and the markings on the ships appear on the cross reference list," the scientist replied. "They seem to be Mowglian Jet Pirates!"

_"Oh no…"_ Sprx muttered.

* * *

_Replies to the Reviews! (Note: "Dawn" is 38SouthernAngel89 and "Dusk" is Hayley Cometra.)_

**To beautybelle300256:  
**From Dawn: Hehe, I was hoping people would enjoy that about Sprx.

From Dusk: Thank my partner for Sprx's origins. I originally thought he would end up at some sort of flight division of a planet's police force. But having him be a space pirate opened the opportunity for more drama.

**To Dark Fox Tailz:  
**From Dawn: (sweatdrop) Sorry but we have other plans in mind, but trust me, you'll enjoy our next chapters.

From Dusk: Sorry to disappoint that we've gone out of your anticipated order. (sweatdrop) We hope future chapters make up for it.

**To pepperdadog:**  
From Dawn: Poor Sparky, and it doesn't get much better for him, XD

From Dusk: Yes, poor Sprx. And like with Dark Fox Tails, we're sorry we didn't tackle Otto next.

**To AnimeQueen17:**  
From Dawn: Yes, boy is he in for a BIG surprise!

From Dusk: (snicker snicker) Yes, Mandarin did say three brothers. You will enjoy what happens when they meet Nova.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

Authors' Note: For those who are not familiar with nautical terms (in this case, being used for a space battle): "bow" means the front side, "stern" means the back side, "port" means the left side, and "starboard" means the right side. Also, due to a battle and other hints of violence, the rating of this fanfic has updated from K to K+.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"_Mowglian Jet Pirates?!" _Gibson asked, both confused and frustrated. _"What in the cosmos do these hooligans want with us?"_

"Not us," Sprx said grimly. "Me. Okay, here's the plan: I'll draw them away, you three keep going and track that signal!"

"_Sprx, that is most unwise,"_ Antauri warned. _"As it is, we're outnumbered and outgunned."_

Exasperated, Sprx groaned in reply, "Look, I know how these guys fly, I know how they fight, and I know how they think. If anyone has any chance of getting out of this alive—"

"_We are brothers, Sprx,"_ Mandarin interrupted. _"We fight together!"_

"Look, there's no time! Just go!"

And without letting them have another chance to argue, he herded the other three ships further along before he turned back and returned fire to one of the space jets.

- - - - - - - - -

"Continue firing," the boss said in the cockpit of the mother ship, making sure all of his followers heard the communication. He kept a close eye on this silver-and-red ship that had turned around and dared to fire at him. He noticed that several of the lasers aimed at the ship were easily outmaneuvered; not many had the pilot skills to do that.

His suspicions were confirmed when he received a transmission from his enemy's ship, and a familiar face smirked on the screen in between his steering controls. _"Heh heh, you promised me I would have my fun next time. Well, this is next time."_

"Sprx…" the boss said solemnly. "I didn't want to believe my underlings when they told me you performed mutiny. I trusted you. I liked you."

"_Well, guess what,"_ Sprx replied. _"After knowing what you did, what you made me do, I __**hate**__ you."_ He fired another shot, this one hitting his jet's port wing. _"I __**hate**__ you."_ Another shot, the starboard wing this time. _"I…__**hate**__ you…so __**much**__!"_

"Such a pity you do," the boss replied. "I was hoping that you would come back to us. I thought you of all people would."

"_Yeah, funny thing about that. I'm not people. I'm a monkey. And I'm not gonna fool around in your monkey business anymore! I found my real family, and you're not going to kill them!"_

The transmission then cut off.

- - - - - - - - -

Several of the Jet Pirates had broken formation with the fleet to pursue Mandarin, Antauri, and Gibson.

_"Split up and draw them in,"_ Mandarin ordered to the other two. _"We will need to dispense with these bogies before we go back for Sprx."_

_"Go back?"_ Antauri questioned. _"Mandarin, much as I don't favor his hastiness, he does have a point. He knows about the nature of these Jet Pirates better than any of us."_

"How does he know all this?" Gibson asked.

Both Mandarin and Antauri left that question unanswered as they opened fire on the first few of their enemies. They both knew that if Gibson were to know, Sprx should be the one to tell him that.

Mandarin spun his cannon around to quickly eliminate one of the space jets that was coming from his port. What his ship lacked in maneuverability was made up with sheer power, thus the "torso" part of his ship's name: the Torso Tank Driver One.

Sweeping down from above, Antauri caught another space jet just behind the cockpit with the hook on his bow. It wasn't very often that Antauri would resort to using actual physical contact; he preferred using his ship's tractor beam to confuse his enemies, which became the inspiration for his ship's current name: the Brain Scrambler Pilot Two.

Gibson didn't waste time in dispensing his enemies. The faster he could get it done, the better for him since he became airsick easily. When he first saw Sprx's ship, he was startled to see how much alike it was to his own. And since Sprx had already given his ship the name Fist Rocket Three, he felt that it would be proper to call his own the Fist Rocket Four. The only difficult part was obtaining Sprx's permission to use the name.

_"Good work, brothers,"_ Mandarin praised when their enemy ships were destroyed.

_"However, Sprx is still engaging the majority of the fleet,"_ Antauri noticed.

As the trio switched the view on their monitors, they just saw Sprx take out three jets of his own before sustaining a missile hit from the mother ship.

"Sprx!" Gibson shouted in concern, changing his course. "I'm going to help him."

_"Gibson, listen to logic!"_ Mandarin shouted.

"And logic insists that despite how I dislike one of my brothers, he is still my brother and I must go to his defense!"

Mandarin growled as Gibson flew off and turned in Sprx's direction.

Gibson ignored the frustrated sighs from Mandarin and sped his approach. A jamming signal emitted from one of the ships, scrambling his ship's sensors. He had to rely on visual clues to maintain a safe space flight.

He switched his monitor view and activated communication. "Sprx, are you all right?"

_"Gibson?"_ the surprised Red Monkey asked. _"Let me do this. This is something that I have to take care of!"_

"I calculate the odds of you surviving a single-handed space battle as approximately 3,654 to one. I have a plan. Just follow my lead."

Sprx groaned but knew that he just took one major missile hit. Even one more direct hit to his ship could spell certain doom for him, and losing this particular battle would be no way for him to start righting his wrongs. So, much as he hated flying in formation with someone else, he did as told.

With the two double-teaming against the fleet, it became much easier to focus on one bogie without worrying about a sneak attack from a different direction. And with lasers being shot from both ships simultaneously gave the Jet Pirates an element of surprise; none of the Pirates ever working together like Sprx and Gibson were at this point.

In a matter of minutes, the mother ship was the only one still functioning. But the mother ship was obviously the most powerful of them in both offense and defense. The Fist Rockets fired laser after laser, and still the mother ship was only dented slightly, and the mother ship still had more than half a payload of missiles to burn.

_"Gibson, like me to give you some advice?"_ Sprx asked with a smirk.

"If it keeps us alive, let's hear it," Gibson replied.

_"Each one of those missiles is filled to the brim with explosive properties. If we target the port and starboard loading bays where the missiles are launched…"_

"…we can trigger a cause-and-effect that will conclude with a lethal explosion!" Gibson realized with a smiled. "And I have just the method! Follow my lead!"

He changed his angle so that he was soon flying directly above Sprx. The Red Monkey looked in confusion some hooking latches emerged from the underside of Gibson's ship. Then he recognized the pattern; it matched the one that he had at the underside of his own ship. With a grin, he found the command to release the latches and turned himself upside-down.

The two ships locked into each other. The navigation commands automatically responded to Gibson's controls since he was on the top, while the weapons systems were diverted to Sprx's cockpit because he was at the bottom. Gibson guided the combined ships very carefully so that Sprx could have a clear shot at the missiles while still giving himself a clear shot for an escape route.

With a grin, Sprx gave his launch button the final push.

As soon as the attack was launched, Gibson had them do a mad dash; if their shot was a success, they will be able to witness it from a safe distance rather than stay behind to confirm and get caught in the explosion.

The laser struck near the back of the missile bay, the closest section to the cockpit of the mother ship. A brief scream started to come out from the cockpit as the extra-thick glass shattered, but the vacuum of space soon eliminated that sound.

- - - - - - - - -

"Done and done," Sprx said when he saw the mother ship explode.

_"Sprx, are you certain that you're all right?"_ Antauri asked, concern in his voice for more than obvious reasons.

"Never felt better."

_"That's good…because I'm going to kill you!"_ Mandarin yelled. _"How reckless of you to perform a solo sortie!"_

_"Mandarin, please,"_ Antauri sighed. _"Gibson, what is your status?"_

_"My weapons system has been knocked out from the final assault,"_ the Blue Monkey replied. _"Their jamming signal has disabled my navigation system as well. I'm not certain of our present location."_

_"Neither are we,"_ Mandarin replied. _"We've also lost the signal we were tracking. But it appears there is a planet nearby. We have no choice but to land."_

- - - - - - - - -

When they landed on the planet, they found themselves in a jungle setting similar to that of Mowgli, but much thinner. One could obviously tell that as they landed in a clearing not far from a massive building. Gibson marveled at the geometric perfection of the building as the other three simply approached it.

Immediately; a tall, middle-aged, redheaded woman emerged from the door. "Oh, how adorable!" she said, running up to them. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Mandarin…and these are my brothers," the Orange Monkey said, rather caught off guard by her openness.

"And are those your ships?" she asked, looking past them. "Looks like they're in bad shape. You must have had one major space battle. You've come to the right place."

"We…have?" Antauri asked.

"Of course! This is the Repair and Recycle Center of Satis, and I am the Headmistress Rika! Come in, come in! I will put your ships under the care of my greatest apprentice!"

As she guided them in the building, they began whispering to one another.

"Headmistress Rika?" Gibson asked.

"Don't you ever get your brain-strain head out of the water?" Sprx quietly asked.

Gibson pouted in offense.

"This lady is a legend. She's a wonder. They say she can build a ship that competes with the best out of spare part in under a week."

"Impressive, but how could that help us?" Mandarin asked.

"Don't you get it?" Sprx asked. "She's known as the greatest mechanic in the universe. You can't ask for anyone else to fix anything you throw at her."

Just then, Antauri accidentally bumped into someone as he floated along, and both crashed on the floor, the second dropping every tool and gadget he was carrying. "Oh, my apologies," the Black Monkey was quick to say. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay, I wasn't looking either," the owner of the voice, deep yet merry, replied as he picked up everything.

But the moment he stood up and looked at them, he dropped everything again, this time in shock.

"Oh," Rika said sweetly behind the Monkeys. "I see you've met our new visitors. Good. This was why I have summoned you. Their ships are in a state of disrepair and are in need of your help."

The four Monkeys had barely paid any attention to anything else she said; all eight of their eyes were locked onto the Green Monkey standing before them.

He smiled sweetly and placed a hand against his chest. "I go by Otto."

"Do you know these four?" Rika asked him.

"Nope," he replied simply with his sweetest smile. "Total strangers. It's weird, but it's convenient. I can color-code which one I'm talking to!"

The four Monkeys gave him quizzical stares in response to his strange sense of logic, but at least it made sense.

Rika smiled at her visitors. "Why don't we bring your ships into the garage so that Otto may start working them?"

"How long will the repairs take?" Antauri asked, expecting the conservative estimate of four or five days.

"Well, that depends on the amount of damage to your armor," Otto began, "but I usually get my major projects done in a total of under 25 hours."

Gibson and Sprx shrieked in surprise when they heard that.

"What?" Otto shrugged.

"Nothing," Mandarin stated casually.

- - - - - - - - -

The next morning found the four arrivals sleeping in beds that were made for the children of some apprentices who had finished their training. There was nothing else for them to sleep in.

When Sprx woke up, he noticed that the fifth bed was empty. "Wasn't Otto supposed to bunk with us last night?"

"Perhaps he's still in the garage?" Antauri suggested. Gibson shrugged in reply.

The quartet rose from bed and began down the hallways. The constant sound of machinery had been their lullaby for the entire night, either on recycling old materials or constructing something new. The smell of paint was everywhere, but at least the entire building was well ventilated.

When they arrived at the garage, Antauri had to move fast to stifle Sprx's giggling. Three of the four ships were repaired; Sprx's was the exception since it had received the most damage. Otto was snoring, which was even louder than Sprx's snores, and lying upside down on top of Gibson's ship. His right hand had been transformed to a monkey wrench, and he had forgotten to change it back as he had drifted off to sleep.

Rika stepped in behind them and chuckled lightly, causing them to look up at her. "That's Otto for you. When he has his heart set on a project, it's very difficult to deter him." She walked past them and climbed up a ladder that was next to the ship. She smiled as she gently rubbed his shoulders.

"Mmm…Mommy…" Otto moaned happily, still half asleep.

Rika chuckled again but slowly shook harder. "Otto… Wake up, sleepy-head."

"Hmm?" His pupils fluttered to life as he looked towards her. "Oh, good morning, Rika."

She smiled warmly at him. "Have you been awake all night?"

"Yeah…" he yawned, rubbing his black glass orbs. "These ships sustained heavy damage, but they're hanging tough. Almost as tough as my ship."

"Well, don't wear yourself out," she warned him. "After all, today is Show-and-Tell. You don't want to miss Show-and-Tell, do you?"

Now fully awake, Otto screeched excitedly. "Ooh! My invention! I'd better go get it!" He quickly jumped down to the floor and ran past the Monkeys without even seeing them.

Rika laughed again. "Once again, that's Otto for you. He likes to create anything using only what's available. That's where his genius kicks in."

She gave a wistful smile and a chuckle as she came down the ladder. "I remember it like it was yesterday…" she sighed happily. "I was stargazing one night many moons ago…when his ship came out of nowhere, blazing like a fireball from a volcano. The tremors from his crash felt like an earthquake unlike any we had ever felt. When I investigated it, I found only him. I was almost afraid he wouldn't survive. So I brought him right here, to this very center, and I reconstructed his cybernetic body and nursed his physical body back to health.

"The very moment he regained consciousness, he was full of questions, and not the usual questions like: who are you or where am I? Questions like: what does this tool do or how do that work? I had to tell him several times to stop moving around so I could continue rebuilding his body, and he still didn't listen. He was too fascinated with everything. His passion was like wildfire.

"I have always had a soft spot for animals, so during his recovery, I had him sleeping in my personal quarters. I suppose that triggered some of the jealousy that you may notice several of the other apprentices giving him. No one was allowed to even be in my personal quarters, let alone sleep in there. He has been the son I can only wish I could have had…"

"What is Show-and-Tell?" Mandarin asked, curious.

Smiling at them, she began to coax them out of the garage and lead them towards a classroom-like area. "It's easier to show you that than to tell you," she answered, half joking.

Since the four were not in any particular rush, they consented to sitting on top of a few stools that were standing at the side of the room. A few at a time, several young adults of various kinds of humanoids entered the room and sat at the desks that were in neat rows in the center. Rika took her position at a corner, with only a large desk standing between her and the door. Otto was one of the last to enter and took his seat near the back of the class.

"Good morning, everyone," Rika said when the room became full and nearly quiet. "We have a few visitors with us today; they will be staying here with us as their spaceships are being repaired. Today's lesson is all about the little things in life. We all know that more often than not, it's the little projects that put the most weight on our shoulders not because of the number in their sizes but because of the size in their numbers. Having to do many things in short time is such a tremendous burden, and so, today's Show-and-Tell will be about how we can make the little things in life easier and better. Who wants to show their invention first?"

Several hands shot into the air, including Otto's. But no one said a word in order to express their patience (even though Otto had to bite his tongue inside his mouth to restrain himself).

"Twila," said the Head Mistress, indicating a human girl in her early 20s.

The apprentice called for stood up and walked to the head of the class, holding several gadgets, all looking alike; to the inexperienced eye, they looked like mechanical forks with clasps on the top of each prong and handles that were large enough around to fit easily in the palm of her hands.

"My invention of for the girls who like quick and easy hair fashion," she said as she prepared one of the gadgets in each hand. "Ladies, are you tired of messing up your hair every time you try to braid it? Do your fingers get sore from the delicate work? Then this is the gizmo for you: the Instant Braider. Simply put the three hair strands of any diameter-width you want into the clasps, and when you're ready, push the button to let the braider do the work for you. The clasps are fixed in defined paths, so you can get perfect braids every time. And you can set the speed frequency: faster for tight braids, slower for loose braids."

To demonstrate, she set the higher speed on one of her braiders and the lower speed for the second one. Gibson activated his binocular vision and zoomed in on the hair clasps. Indeed, as he watched very carefully and replayed the image in his mind in slow motion, the three prongs moved in precise synchronization, one alternating after another like a perfect juggling act. The braided hair set for the lower speed was a cute braid that would flatter any little girl; the braid done at the higher speed was a perfect example for young ladies who could have many of these thin braids in their hair at the same time.

"And the best part," she continued, "is the immediate wrapping of your braid into any hair accessory. No more losing your braids, no more loose hair bands. The Braider does it all for you!"

"Very lovely, Twila," Rika praised, and everyone applauded. As the apprentice took her seat, she asked, "Who would like to be next?"

Again, Otto was among the several hands that came up. Rika noticed this, but she smiled at the expression on his face, looking almost as if ready to burst if he wasn't called on. With a smile, she pointed to him. "Otto, what do you have?"

He gave a wacky yet proud grin as he got out of his chair, carrying a small box. The other Monkeys could hear whispering and murmuring of an unenthusiastic nature. They couldn't understand why since Rika had spoken very highly of him.

"Ever found tooth brushing to be a bit of a hassle?" Otto asked as he slowly opened his box. "Trying to get to those hard-to-reach places every time you gotta brush? Well, say good-bye to that, thanks to…" He placed his hand in the box and pulled out a set of dentures that had small toothbrush bristles along the front and the back of the teeth. "…Ta-da! The Hands-Free Toothbrush!"

Several members of the class broke out into quiet, scattered laughter. Rika had to clap her hands sternly several times to get their attention back on Otto's presentation.

"All you gotta do is push the button, place it in your mouth, and it'll do all the brushing for you in a matter of seconds. Now watch carefully; the amount of movement in this demonstration is not an exaggeration."

He pushed the button and quickly placed the device in his mouth, putting it into place while the timer inside the gadget ticked down. Once it was ready, his head began to move so much that it was very difficult to see his face clearly. He had forgotten to set the speed for its slowest speed for a quick demonstration. Instead, it was shaking his head violently at its top speed intended only for intense cleaning.

After ten or fifteen seconds of this, Otto had no choice but to spit out his device because his jaws were hurting so much. The female apprentices made a collective groan of disgust at seeing the device rattling on the dirty floor. Many of the male apprentices burst out in mocking laughter.

"You call that an invention?"

"We're supposed to make life easier, not harder!"

"Hey, what're you gonna build next? A 'handy little gadget' that pre-chews your food?"

"Ha ha, hey, don't encourage him!"

"Class!" Rika began to chastise, clapping her hands again. But this time, they were making so much noise that they didn't hear.

Otto pouted in embarrassment and ran out of the room.

"Otto!" Rika called, beginning after him. But she stopped to look at the class again.

She was ready for a louder call of attention when Mandarin did it for her; he leapt from his stool, landed on the large desk with a thump, and activated his sword with a intimidating growl, "That…is…**enough**!"

Having never been threatened before, the frightened students immediately became silent.

"You **dare** to insult one of my brothers?!" he asked, glaring from one to another.

"Mandarin…" Antauri cautioned as he floated up from the stool.

Sprx walked up to the table and looked up at the Orange Monkey. "Come on. Let's go find Otto."

Mandarin gave another insulted snarl before jumping off the table and leading the way out.

- - - - - - - - -

"Mandarin, may I speak to you for a minute?"

"Of course, Antauri. What is it?"

"I feel that you would prefer to discuss this privately."

Mandarin slowly looked at Sprx and Gibson, who had looked back at them curiously. He nodded to them, and the two continued ahead.

Once the two were out of the earshot, Antauri looked at Mandarin, placid but plaintive. "Mandarin, we have known each other for many years. And in all of our years training together, not once have I noticed such an erratic change of your behavior."

Mandarin looked at Antauri, startled. "What do you mean?"

Antauri seemed to hesitate. "I will speak only if I feel I may speak freely."

At first, this insulted Mandarin. Of course Antauri was allowed to speak freely to him; he was his brother. But then he discovered that there might be some things Antauri wanted to say that might disturb him even more. He slowly nodded and prepared himself for the worst.

"First was your reaction to Sprx's defensiveness. Sprx, I can understand; he had been alone for so long that he had forgotten what it's like to have a family. But you…your outburst was most disturbing.

"Secondly is your lack of patience for him. The two of us were fortunate enough to have found each other so soon after our apparent crash, and we have spent our time training together. Sprx and the others, however, have spent that exact same amount of time training by themselves. We cannot expect them to feel like they belong with us the instant we find them.

"And now, you are beginning to express your anger towards the innocent."

"Oh, that?" Mandarin was quick to ask in reply. "That was only a warning."

"Weapons would be unnecessary to accompany a warning."

"They were unwilling to listen to the voice of reason that is Rika. I had to do something."

"So you would rather take a risk of breaking their law of protocol than allow events to run their proper course? Rika could see that the students needed to be dealt with mercifully."

Mandarin frowned. "Antauri, there is a time for mercy, and there is a time for justice."

Antauri was about to reply when Sprx and Gibson ran up to them.

"Pardon us for interrupting, but we have located Otto," Gibson stated.

"Where?" Mandarin asked.

"Back in the garage," Sprx replied, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "He's working his tail off to fix my ship. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trying to distract himself."

"Then let's go," Mandarin said, allowing Gibson and Sprx to lead the way. He looked again at Antauri and said, "We will continue this discussion later."

- - - - - - - - -

In the garage, Otto had finished reinforcing the armor on Sprx's ship and was searching his cans of paint for one that matched the red on the front.

He didn't look back to see Mandarin and the others arriving.

He didn't need to.

"You guys here to laugh at me, too?" he slowly asked.

"No, Otto," Sprx immediately said with a nervous chuckle. "No, no. I thought your little gizmo was cool."

Gibson elbowed the Red Monkey, trying to tell him not to patronize him.

Otto sighed, "I'm so embarrassed…"

"Why?" Antauri calmly asked. "Because they laughed at you?"

"No, because that's the first time in my life I walked out of that room because they laughed at me. Usually, I just pick it up and go back to my desk. Nothing to it."

"No, Otto, you should never put up with treatment like that," Mandarin insisted with slight force. Antauri placed a hand on his shoulder, and after looking at the Black Monkey, he added gently, "You're a brilliant inventor. You shouldn't allow anyone to tell you differently."

"I've always thought it was just a matter of opinion," Otto replied as he finally found the shade of red he was looking for. He went over to Sprx's ship, transformed one hand into a paint roller, and began to work. "But…I'm kinda thinking that you're right. I did put up with that because Rika always defended me, always supported me. But I had a feeling for the past week that all that was gonna change…"

"…Ever since you saw a certain star in the sky?" Gibson asked.

Otto gave him a queer look. It wasn't often that someone finished one of his sentences for him. "How did you know that?"

Mandarin stepped up to Otto and smiled. "All four of us were at a different planet, and yet we all saw the same star. It was that star that have changed all of us, compelled us to take another look at our lives and realize that there was something missing: our own family."

"But…I already have a family," the Green Monkey said in confusion. "Rika was the only mother I have ever known. My place is here, helping her."

"Have you never wanted something more?" Mandarin asked. "Otto, Rika may have been your surrogate mother, but we are brothers. True brothers. We support each other and encourage each other in all that we do. We have only one more brother to find, and then I believe that if we follow that star to its solar system, it'll lead us to one of its inhabited planets. And surely that planet would be our true home of origin, where destiny awaits."

Otto scratched his head in confusion. "Well, I don't know much about destiny and other planetary systems and other hard-core sciences, but I can tell you this." He washed off the paint that was on his paint roller tool before he transformed it back into his hand. "If you guys ever run into another space jockey like the one that landed you here, you're gonna need me wherever you go more often than once."

Mandarin smiled in reply. "That's the spirit."

Suddenly coming upon an idea, Otto's grin became bigger. "Wait right here. I got the perfect idea for a thank-you present."

"Wha—thank-you present? Otto, I don't need—" But the Green Monkey had already run around a corner, chattering excitedly. "Okay…"

About half an hour, Otto had returned with something orange that looked like shoulder pads with a chest guard attached. He smiled as he showed it to Mandarin. "Matches your fur and gloves perfectly!"

If there was ever a time when Mandarin had become emotional before, even Antauri never knew it. His white pupils were nearing the point of shedding tears. "Otto…" he said happily. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me…"

Otto chattered happily. "Here's let's slip it on for size." He quickly removed a hinge on one of the shoulders and all but threw it over Mandarin's head. Upon contact with his shoulder, Mandarin lost his footing for a split second, but he disguised it easily. "Heavier than it looks," he admitted, "but it's a perfect fit. Thank you, Otto."

"No, thank **you**, Mandarin. You guys want one, too?"

"I'm good," Sprx politely refused.

"No, thank you," Gibson added.

"I don't need one," Antauri smiled.

Otto grinned in reply, accepting those answers. "So, one more brother? Well, let me kiss Rika good-bye and get my ship warmed up, and I'll be right with you!"

"Otto, wait!" Sprx suddenly said. The Green Monkey stopped short, looking at him. "Um…does Rika give kisses to handsome red monkeys?"

* * *

_Replies to the Reviews!_

**To Dark Fox Tailz:  
**Sorry, but our goal is writing a story that sounds like it could have actually happened before the show. Your suggestion sounds too OOC for Otto. Thanks, anyway.

**To beautybelle300256:  
**Thanks! We take special pride in keeping everyone in character and making everything believable.

**To pepperdadog  
**Writing the underwater city was fun. :-)

**To AnimeQueen17:  
**(giggle) It's going to be even worse for Sprx.

**To Emerald Shapeshifter 777:  
**You'll have to keep on reading to find out… (wink)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

After the departure from Satis, locating the final signal was no trouble at all, thanks to the repairs Otto made and the sensors recalibrated by Gibson. Their target this time was a planet in the center of the galaxy, possibly the reason why it was called Galaxia. Like the planets for Otto and Sprx, this one consisted mostly of jungle. And like it Otto, the jungle was slightly thin. Their crafts hovered in low orbit until they were able to determine that the signal was coming from a dojo called the Galaxia Monster Battle Club.

Once inside, the four Monkeys approached the main building.

"Can I help you?" the piggish monster guarding the door asked crudely.

"We are looking for someone who resembles us…" Mandarin began the normal routine.

The guard quickly jerked a massive thumb over his shoulder, granting them entrance into the room beyond the door. "You'll have to wait until the fight is over before you approach," he warned them.

"Fight?" Otto asked, screeching with worry as he dashed through the door.

"Otto!" Mandarin called as he and the other three followed him.

They stood in surprise when they heard a ding.

In front of them was a wrestling ring. In one corner was a cheetah monster standing on its hind legs. It had an eyeglass over its left eye, a moustache just below its nose, and a blue robe tied around its waist. A pipe rested easily in between its jaws, only instead of smoke rising out of the pipe's mouth, bubbles emerged. And in the opposite corner was the last of their own, the sixth Robot Monkey: yellow fur bristling almost like gold in the arena light. And perhaps it was a trick of the light, but some of the Monkeys below could almost swear that the glass orbs serving as eyes were pink. Yellow fists that were three times as big as normal hovered in front of the Monkey's chest, ready for battle.

It was the cheetah who launched the first attack. No one, not even Mandarin, saw the punch as it flew across the ring and approached the Monkey. But not only did the Monkey in the arena see it, but the punch was also blocked, countered, and sent flying back into the cheetah's face. This happened several times until the Monkey had kicked the cheetah back into the corner.

Just when it looked like the cheetah was going to regain the advantage, the Monkey suddenly jumped up with a screech and slammed both fists into the floor of the ring. With the entire ring shaking, the cheetah began to loose its balance. And the moment it did, the Monkey grabbed the cheetah's ankles and began to spin around. Despite the Monkey's small size, there was no doubt of its extraordinary strength. And when a great amount of momentum had been built, the Monkey released the cheetah and sent it soaring out of the arena, and it crashed into the far wall. The massive crowd broke out into loud applause.

Gibson, however, was less than impressed. "Why would one of our own desire to train in a location with such reckless violence?"

Otto, on the other hand, was delighted. "I don't know, looks really cool to me!"

"That guy up there is a big show-off," Sprx scoffed as he pointed to the Monkey standing proudly in the arena.

Just them, a dwarf-like monster serving as a referee lowered itself into the ring, holding a microphone to its mouth. "The Moustached Madcat has been defeated. Nova the Primate Female wins!"

Every single one of the five Monkeys below stood in shock.

"A female?" Gibson gasped.

"He's a she!" Otto realized.

"We have a sister?!" Mandarin asked, more shocked than all of them.

Sprx, however, had heart-shapes replacing the pupils in his eyes, beating in rhythm with his own heart. "I gotta meet her," he said dreamily, slowly beginning to approach the ring.

"Sprx, wait!" Antauri called out.

The referee suddenly turned in Sprx's direction and pointed at him. "Looks like we have a volunteer for Nova's next opponent!"

In that instant, his pupils returned to normal. "What?!" he shouted. Suddenly, two of the piggish guards came up behind one, each grabbing one of his arms and all but throwing him into the arena.

The referee lowered himself next to Sprx, the microphone away from his mouth. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sprx, and I'm not—"

The referee suddenly hovered away from him and came into the middle. "Nova the Primate Female is being challenged by Sprx…the Magnetic Monkey!"

The Yellow Monkey, apparently named Nova, cracked her knuckles with a mischievous smile. "Huh, you don't look so tough," she told him, her voice both feminine and tomboyish.

"No, no, wait a minute!" Sprx shouted.

_Ding!_

Nova immediately launched a flying dash and punched his cheek, making him spin a couple of times before he fell onto the floor.

Slowly but surely, he got up again. "I'm not here to fight you," he tried to reason with her.

"Nice try," she smirked in reply before she launched a vicious punch, hitting him squarely on the nose. The attack sent him flying into the corner, and a pair of rings from the bell indicated the fight was over.

"Nova the Primate Female has defeated Sprx the Magnetic Monkey!" the referee shouted to the pleased crowd.

The other Monkeys huddled around Sprx's corner. "Sprx, are you all right?" Antauri asked.

"Oh, I'm way all right, Antauri…" Sprx replied, his voice groggy but obviously happy. "I've been hit by an angel."

Immediately, Nova's frown deepened. "An angel?! As if!"

- - - - - - - - -

The five male Monkeys didn't have another opportunity to speak to Nova until after the official fights were over, and even then, it took another 15 minutes. She was in training with her mentor, the master of the Monster Battle Club of Galaxia.

Otto supported the limping Sprx as all five of them entered the dojo. Several humanoid monsters like the Moustached Madcat were doing a variety of technique practices in the dojo, such as stepping barefoot on live coal; balancing tea cups on the hands, elbows, head, and one knee; target practice with moving wooden mannequins; and of course the basic punching bag.

But Nova was at the furthest side of the dojo, standing in perfect balance on a pair of glass spikes that were as tall as her. Her eyes were closed, the palms of her hands were pressed against each other in front of her chest, and even her tail was motionless.

A bull-like monster, Master Offay, supervised her. "Concentrate, Nova," he said quietly so as not to disturb her balance. "Breathe in perfect rhythm. Stand tall, as tall as you can. Remember, your form clears the mind and centers the body. When your spirit is still, you can conquer anything."

Although a little fascinated by her training and by how motionless she was, the five Monkeys slowly began to approach in hopes to join the conversation without disrupting the training too much.

They found that to be a failure when they were very close to Nova's position from behind. At that point, one of her hands shot out from in front of her, made into a fist, and slammed into the face of the nearest Monkey, who happened to be Sprx. He groaned as he fell onto the mat. The sudden change in her movement didn't disturb her enough to make her fall from the spikes, but she did open her eyes and glance at them as best as she could without turning her head.

"I'll give you this much: not many can creep up on me like that," she stated bluntly.

Master Offay gave a small smile in greeting to his visitors. "Nova has told me about the rough reception she gave you at the arena. She would like to apologize to you."

"I wasn't aware that you weren't supposed to be my next opponent," she continued. "It was my fault."

"No apology needed, Nova," Mandarin answered. "Actually, I congratulate you. You have battled masterfully."

Nova shook her head. "No, I didn't. Since I was facing an unfamiliar opponent, I should have waited for the first move. I suppose I was simply fortunate that my so-called contender wasn't willing to fight."

"So-called?" Sprx repeated, almost as if offended. "Heh, I could kick your tail any day."

Nova glared at him hatefully as she jumped off the spikes. "We will test that at your own convenience," she threatened him.

"Actually, that opportunity may come sooner than you think, Nova," Mandarin stated. "This is why we are here."

Nova gave him a confused stare, but the stare she gave Sprx wasn't very much different than what she was giving Mandarin now.

"Nova, my brother Antauri and I have gone from corner to corner of this galaxy in search of our brothers. And you are the last of our own. Now that we have finally found you, we can begin the journey to our unknown home and the fulfillment of our unseen destiny."

Her expression didn't change at all. "I know where my home is: right here on Galaxia. And I know what my destiny is: to train here under the watchful eye of Master Offay."

"That's the kinda thing I thought when these guys found me," Otto stated. Nova's attention turned her him, and her demeanor changed slightly. She didn't know why, but her soul told her that she just couldn't be mad in front of him, even if she wasn't mad at him at all. "But I changed my mind after I got to know them."

Gibson nodded. "I concur. I admit, I was pleased with the scientific endeavors that I have obtained during my schooling, but to say that I had found joy would have been less than accurate." Nova almost laughed at his choice of words, but all she wasn't able to keep hidden was her smile.

Sprx smirked. "Yeah, if it weren't for Mandarin and Antauri, I would've been fish bait."

_Too bad for them,_ Nova thought to herself.

"All else aside," Antauri began calmly, "we are all equal pieces to a puzzle, Nova. We do not need you any more than we need the others. And yet, without you, the puzzle will never be complete."

Although she admired the Black Monkey's placid expression and sense of logic, Nova slowly looked away from them. "Look, I'm sorry that you came all this way. But I can't go with you."

"Is it because of your training?" Mandarin asked. Then, before letting Nova answer, he looked up at the instructor. "Master Offay, if she so chooses, would you be willing to allow your apprentice to accompany us so that her fighting spirit may inspire us all?"

The dojo master smiled. "Of course. I am happy for her. The benefit would extend both ways."

Mandarin then looked at her again. "Nova?"

"No!" she shouted. "I…am not…going!" And she ran out of the training room as fast as her legs could carry her.

Master Offay sighed. "Her stubborn spirit and her short temper are not a pleasant combination. I will try to reason with her. Meanwhile, the rest of you are welcome to do as you please in my dojo."

The five watched as the master walked out.

Mandarin sighed. "It seems that we may have to negotiate with her…in her language. Sprx, come with me, I will need your help."

After the two walked out, Antauri and Gibson noticed that Otto was scratching his head. "In her language?" he repeated. "I thought she speaks monkey like us."

Antauri sighed. "I have a feeling that's not what he meant."

- - - - - - - - -

Master Offay entered the only place where Nova could be found: her bedroom. After all, she had her own personal punching bag and dumbbells; she could train by herself without leaving the comfort of her room.

"Go away!" she snapped at whoever dared to enter her private quarters, since the punching bag she was at had forced her to face away from the door.

The dojo master only gave a light chuckle in reply.

That's all he needed to give.

Nova quickly turned around in shock. "Master Offay!" she shrieked in surprise. Then, she quickly composed herself, placed one fist in the palm of her other hand, and gave a bow of protocol. "Forgive me, Master, I thought you—"

"I have a very good idea of who you thought I was," he interrupted with another chuckle. He sat down on a cushion in front of a low table. On top was a plugged-in steam kettle with some warm water still in it. He picked it up and poured it into two cups, an invitation for Nova to join him for tea. She silently obeyed and sat at the other side of the table.

After several minutes of drinking tea in silence, Master Offay placed his cup down. "Nova, what are you afraid of?"

Nova almost dropped her cup. "Afraid? Who said that I was afraid?"

"You did. Perhaps not with words, but actions speak louder than words. Never before have you even turned your back on a challenge, much less run away from it."

"Challenge?"

"Of course. You are being challenged to be the one sister among your brothers."

The comment made Nova frown. "They may be my brothers, but that doesn't mean I want them to be."

Master Offay carefully thought about this. Nova may be stubborn, but this was a different kind of stubbornness. "That is like saying you don't want to be a monkey. And yet you are. You do not want to be their sister? Yet you are."

"Humph, I can already tell that two of them are…" She couldn't bring herself to saying it.

"Ah, is that it? Are you afraid of losing your nerve in front of two…jerks?"

Nova nearly laughed. She had often heard her mentor using an insult on someone he barely knew and/or was beginning to train.

The dojo master's smile faded into one of his serious frowns. "Nova, you are the finest apprentice I have ever trained. However, so long as you remain here, that is what you will always be: an apprentice. You will be a master only when you leave this dojo. There is little more you can learn from me.

"And remember: although the egg must hatch, the hatchling never flies far from the nest. Who knows but that your departure may lead someone you meet along the way to come here to train?"

"Master Offay, I appreciate what you're trying to tell me," Nova began. "But I don't think I'm ready."

"Never think yourself ready; when you are ready, you will know."

Nova nodded, and they continued drinking their tea in silence.

- - - - - - - - -

As the door opened, the subtle amount of light creeping in was less than overwhelming, so Nova didn't wake up. She sighed happily in her sleep as she turned in her small but soft cushions.

A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth, startling her into sitting up. That was a big mistake on her part, for an arm wrapped around hers from behind and pinned them to her sides. She mumbled and grunted, trying to struggle her way free, but her captor was surprisingly stronger than she. And she didn't have very long to struggle before something else pulled her and her captor off the floor.

It took her only a moment to realize that she was caught in a magnetic force before she looked down and saw Sprx with his magnets in place of his hands.

She glared hatefully as she was barely able to turn her head. She was at just the right angle to see it was Mandarin who held her.

Sprx gave a slight snicker as he stepped backwards through the open door, taking Mandarin and Nova in tow. Nova resumed the struggle, trying to break free from the Orange Monkey's grasp. But even when she managed to wiggle her way into a little bit of freedom, she found that Sprx's magnetic hold didn't allow her much more than that.

She was finally able to move Mandarin's hand away from her mouth, and she began to scream, "Monkey-napped! I'm being mon—"

But Mandarin was able to get his paw back over her mouth before anyone could hear her.

When Sprx had carried the pair into the empty arena room, he climbed into the slightly lit ring and brought Mandarin and Nova in. There and only there did Mandarin begin to speak. "Hush, Nova. You are not being monkey-napped. I simply wanted you to hear me out completely without interruption."

Nova struggled her mouth free again. "You know, both of you really are making quite a first impression."

"Thank you," Mandarin replied bluntly. "Now, if we release you, will you hear me out without shouting or running away?"

"…All right."

Mandarin looked at Sprx and gave him a slight nod. In reply, Sprx gently lowered them down until their feet were just above the ring floor and deactivated his magnets. And when they landed on the floor, Mandarin released her. She all but shoved him to get him to let her go faster, something that made him chuckle lightly.

She shot a glare in Sprx's direction. "The next time you use your magnets to hold me is going to be the death of me…" she muttered, making Sprx grin.

And when she glared at Mandarin, the Orange Monkey crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I wonder if you have what it takes to accompany us."

Nova snarled at him. "Reverse psychology is NOT going to work on me."

"Did I imply reverse psychology? Sprx, did I imply reverse psychology on Nova?"

"Not that I heard," the Red Monkey shrugged with a smile.

Nova sighed at Sprx before looking at Mandarin again.

"We've brought you here to find out just how strong you are, Nova. I'm willing to make a deal with you. I'm going to have Sprx do a 15-second countdown. If by the end of 15 seconds either I do not manage to defeat you or you have defeated me, you would have earned the right to choose to either come with us or stay. However, if I do defeat you before 15 seconds, you will come with us without complaint."

Nova stared hard at him. "I'll take it a step further…" she replied. "If I go with you, whether by my choice or not, all of you will have to treat me as an equal. Since I'm the only girl on the team, I don't want to be seen as a damsel in distress, because I'm not. I don't want anyone saying that I can't be involved as the rest of you are simply because I'm a girl."

Mandarin chuckled lightly.

"Did I say something funny?" she snarled.

"No, Nova," Mandarin replied. "I expected no less from you. So, are we agreed?"

"Do I have your promise?"

"On my honor as a warrior."

Slowly, she nodded. "I know I'm gonna regret this, but…all right."

Mandarin nodded and took a fighting pose. "Now watch closely, Sprx. This is how you break a warrior."

Nova snarled viciously at the insult and wasted no time in throwing the first punch, the same punch that she had given Sprx earlier, yelling, "**Boom Boom Wake Up**!"

Mandarin, however, remained calm as he simply dodged the blow by jumping into the air. He landed behind her, then suddenly spun in place and punched her, sending her across the arena.

She didn't even bother getting up.

"Time!" Sprx called suddenly.

Smiling triumphantly, Mandarin walked over to her and offered her his paw.

"What…what was that?" Nova asked in amazement.

"It's called the Sweeping Fists Move," Mandarin answered. "I will teach it to you, if you wish to learn."

For the first time, Nova smiled at him and replied, "I'd like that."

Sprx became jealous that Mandarin was getting all the attention. He calmly stepped between the two, separating the two. "Okay, Mandarin," he said casually, looking at him. "Warrior Breaking 101, got it."

Nova snarled again and swung her tail at him, smacking him on the cheek.

Sprx was almost ready to break into tears at the painfully unexpected reaction, which made Mandarin smile.

She looked at Mandarin again. "Well, since you have me…now what?"

Mandarin grinned again.

* * *

_Replies to the Reviews! (Note: "Dawn" is 38SouthernAngel89 and "Dusk" is Hayley Cometra.)_

**To beautybelle300256:  
**From Dawn: Aww, you're so sweet, thanks!

From Dusk: Well, I don't know about THE best, but thank you.

**To Dark Fox Tailz:  
**From Dawn: Here's your update, hope you like it!

From Dusk: I hope this is written to your satisfaction, considering that I in particular am not a big fan of any (blank)ova except for Spova.

**To Emerald Shapeshifter 777:  
**From Dawn: Glad ya liked it, Hayley came up with that! -high fives Hayley-

From Dusk: Yes, I donated that part. (big grin) Being a huge Otto fan, that chapter was especially fun for me to contribute.

**To pepperdadog:**  
From Dawn: You were right about that, lol, poor Sparky!

From Dusk: Well, at least the pirates were able to get Sprx to unlock the anger and hatred he's capable of having.

**To AnimeQueen17:  
**From Dawn: I hope you enjoyed his reaction, but I think Sprx's reaction was the best. XD

From Dusk: Yes, he STILL said brother. Quite a stubborn line of thought he has, eh? (giggle)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!_, and all characters and events related to it, are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

"_Sprx!"_ Nova screeched hotly through his cockpit's comlink. _"If you ask us 'are we there yet?' one more time, I'll crush your optical sensors so badly that you'll never see where it is you're going!"_

The Red Monkey sighed, once again bored from the many hours of space travel. They had set course directly for the solar system with the star they had spotted, but it took them this long to get this far, and it would probably take them twice as long to finish the journey, maybe even longer.

"Fine," he groaned. "But that doesn't mean I should be bored to death. I'm going to fly ahead and practice my aerodynamics."

"_Not without me to supervise, you won't!"_ Gibson insisted, flying to catch up with Sprx.

"_Sprx, Gibson, this is most unwise,"_ Antauri started to say, but Sprx ignored him since they were already a considerable distance ahead of them. After all, he was finally beginning to enjoy himself for the first time in a long while.

"_We should resume standard formation with the others, Sprx,"_ Gibson warned. _"Antauri is already accelerating on an intercept course."_

"Aw, let Master Killjoy come," Sprx said jokingly. "I can fly my ship and navigate around these stars with my eyes closed."

"Sprx, don't even think—!" 

But he was too late, Sprx already closed his eyes and began using his tail to push adjustment buttons. At first, he was doing quite well as Gibson could see on his monitor. But then he noticed that as one button was pushed, he received an automatic transmission from his ship's computer: "Warning to all crafts. Fist Rocket Three has initiated Machinder Mode sequence. Automatic docking will begin in five seconds."

"Uh oh…" Sprx whispered.

- - - - - - - - -

"What is this?" Mandarin shrieked in surprise.

"_What's a Machinder Mode?"_ Otto asked.

"_It appears we are about to find out,"_ Antauri replied.

Mandarin kept a careful eye on his ship and his teammates as it happened faster than it could be said. Gears clicked and screeched, metal panels shifted, and engines went into overtime as he noticed changes taking place for all six vehicles. For his own ship, the cannons were retracting, and the metal panels moving were making his vehicle more box-like. The only things that remained stationery were the engines that provided his propulsion.

He saw Sprx and Gibson's rockets as their shifting sections made them both take the form of what could be described only as hands. Soon, Nova and Otto's cruisers were doing the same, only theirs took the forms of feet. Antauri's vehicle performed a twist as the wings and feet folded inside.

Mandarin then heard more metallic screeching. Four long pieces of pipe-like metal emerged from his ship: two on the bottom and one on each side. A fifth, shorter pipe appeared on the top. At each side, Gibson and Sprx's ships connected on the ends of the side pipes. Soon afterwards, Nova and Otto's sections came into contact with the two bottom pipes. And finally, Antauri's craft connected at the top.

Then, silence.

"_Uh_…_what just happened?"_ Nova asked after the eerie quiet lasted a few seconds.

"Gibson, report," Mandarin ordered.

"_I'm receiving a new status report now,"_ the Blue Monkey replied. _"It appears that this Machinder Mode sequence has combined our six separate vehicles into one robot."_

"_Kinda big for a robot, isn't it?"_ Otto asked. _"After all, we're robots._ … _Ooh, I know! It's_…_a Super Robot!"_

"_Super Robot_…_"_ Sprx chuckled lightly. _"I like it. It has some kind of a nice ring to it."_

"_It seems that this Super Robot is more than just the sum of its parts,"_ Antauri noticed. _"Internal scans show an engine room with a neutron generator, a medical section, training and meditation rooms, living quarters, and even a command center."_

"Hmm, it appears that a tour is in order," Mandarin announced. "Switch all systems to automatic and gather your belongings; we will meet at the living quarters first to claim and arrange our rooms as we see fit. Then, we shall begin exploring our Super Robot."

- - - - - - - - -

"Hey, everyone, we need a team name," Otto suddenly piped up after each member had decorated their individual quarters.

"Team name?" Gibson repeated, a little annoyed. "Why?"

"Every team has a name."

"Hmm, I believe Otto has a point," Antauri replied. "We could be easily identified as the Monkey Team."

"But that sounds so plain," Nova objected. "After all, we're not just monkeys; we're Robot Monkeys."

"Yeah, but that sounds like a group of sinister simians bent on blowing up the cosmos," Sprx replied. "We need to let everyone know that we're the good guys, the superheroes."

"If my opinion is pleasurable, I prefer the name Hyperforce," Gibson stated.

"Hyperforce?" Nova asked. "Where did that come from?"

For once, Gibson stuttered slightly.

"All right, all right," Mandarin sighed, almost as if he knew a fight was going to break out if no one was going to agree on something as silly as a team name. "From this point on, we shall be known as the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce."

"Go!" Otto shouted, throwing a fist up.

"Go where?" Antauri asked.

Otto blushed. "Nowhere in particular. I just thought the 'Go' packs a punch to the team name."

Everyone else groaned at the same time but consented.

- - - - - - - - -

"We have arrived at the solar system in question," Mandarin stated after several hours touring the ship and spending the rest of the flight sitting in each one's own chair in the command center. "Gibson, report."

"It appears that that we have arrived in the Shuggazoom System," the Blue Monkey replied. "There is only one planet in this system that is inhabited, and only a small portion of that planet is hospitable enough for residence. The northernmost section of this planet consists of glaciers and subzero oceans. The eastern section is a dry desert, and beyond it is a burning wasteland. To the south is an island with no features save a formation of gigantic standing stones. The hospitable section of the planet has but one city. That must be the capital city."

"We're coming into range now," Nova reported as the city came into view.

"I suggest we land in the outskirts," Antauri told Mandarin. "We have no desire to attract any unwanted attention."

Mandarin nodded his agreement, and Sprx piloted the Robot to land in a clearing about twenty miles outside the city.

After waiting a while to be certain no one saw them land, they came out of their command chairs and made their way to their respective elevators. They slowly descended towards one of the exits.

When they left the Robot, Otto immediately screeched at a sight and ran ahead for a few feet. "Oh, oh, apple tree saplings!"

Nova smiled at the sight of him and took a deep breath. "Ah, the air smells sweet, and the atmosphere is warm."

"Indeed," Gibson answered, but suddenly flinched at a sound he hadn't heard for a long time, nor did he care to hear. He whimpered lightly and covered his head with his hands, looking both pathetic and ridiculous.

After a few moments, when the scientist looked up, he discovered that Mandarin had one arm up and that a dragonfly was sitting in the palm of his mechanical paw. "What's the matter, Gibson?" he chuckled lightheartedly. "Never seen a dragonfly before?"

Gibson frowned and erected himself to an upright stance. "I abhor insectoids."

Sprx giggled. "I guess you don't like them, eh?"

Gibson glared at Sprx. "Is that not what I just said?"

The only reply was another chuckle from Mandarin before he gently puffed on the dragonfly, coaxing it to fly on its way.

"Mandarin?" Antauri asked, attracting the Orange Monkey's attention. "The rest of us are curious about this planet that is our home. Care to join us for a tour of the city?"

The leader looked at them and sighed. "Thank you for the offer, Antauri, but someone has to stay here and guard the Robot at all times. If all five of you are going, that has to be me. Perhaps some other time."

The rest of them look at him for a few seconds before turning to leave. Antauri waited the longest, silently contemplating as Mandarin turned around and went back into the Robot. Then, he followed them.

- - - - - - - - -

Ignoring the slightly freaked-out stares that many of the civilians were giving them, the Monkeys continued down the main street until they found a semi-large crowd gathered in front of what seemed to be a snack stand. There was a large banner hanging over the counter that said, "Gakslapper's 10th Anniversary."

"Gakslapper?" Sprx asked, puzzled. "What's a Gakslapper?"

"It appears that the appropriate question is not what but whom," Gibson replied, pointing.

Everyone turned to see a short, slightly chubby man in his mid-30s standing behind the crowded counter. He was distributing tray after tray after tray of a prepared food unlike anything any of the monkeys had ever seen: two layers of bread, one on top and the other at the bottom; with layers of meats and cheeses and thin vegetable leaves in between. What was the most odd about them was that each individual piece was hovering in the air.

"Gather 'round, everyone!" the man said, nothing but gentle and merry hospitality in his slightly heavy voice. "No one's got better Hover burgers than I do. Ten years in the business today, and so that you can celebrate with me, all of your meals today are on the house!"

"Oh, it's making me hungry!" Otto exclaimed, drool slowly dripping from his mouth.

"We might as well sample the local cuisine that is offered here," Gibson stated.

Sprx chuckled. "Especially since it's free!"

Nova sighed and slowly shook her head.

"Very well," Antauri said calmly.

When the majority of the crowd had dispersed from the counter to the tables, the Monkey Team approached. The man, Mr. Gakslapper, looked down at them and smiled. "Hey," he chuckled. "I've seen lots of things in my life, but nothing quite like seeing you. Come and try my Hover burgers."

Quicker than it could be said, he had five of the Hover burgers prepared and placed on trays. Otto had snatched his and gobbled it down even faster than that. Sprx and Nova each took theirs at the same time and happily ate them.

"Delicious!" Sprx said.

"At least we agree on one thing," Nova added.

Gibson sniffled his Hover burger first before sampling it, which he later enjoyed. "Quite scrumptious."

By the time the others had finished only half of their burgers, Otto noticed that Antauri had turned his nose against the one offered to him. "Hey, Antauri, you gonna eat that?"

Although not wanting to be impolite, Antauri quickly gave Otto his.

And although all Mr. Gakslapper could hear from them were monkey chatters, he figured the body language enough to understand what had just happened. "Oh, are you a vegetarian?" he asked Antauri. "Then I've got just the Hover burger for you. I'll be right back."

A few moments after he disappeared behind the counter, he came back with a tray with but one burger. It looks just like all of the others, but Antauri could tell by the smell that this one was different.

"This is my vegetarian special," Mr. Gakslapper explained. "I got something for everyone. Go ahead, try it."

Antauri slowly picked up the burger with both hands. He could have just as easily levitated it and brought it directly to him, but he felt that he would have frightened the friendly man if he did. Like Gibson, he sniffed his burger before tasting a small sample.

Mr. Gakslapper watched intently.

With a smile of thanks, Antauri began to eat the rest of it.

- - - - - - - - -

Mandarin sighed and he typed in the commands into the computer system. The star that they had followed to this planet was fairly young; he knew that much. Perhaps even only several years old. He wondered what could have happened in this solar system that would warrant the birth of a new star.

Whatever it was, he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He had thought about the reactions each of the other monkeys had when they saw the star.

Antauri had been filled with awe and wonder, something very rare for the wise philosopher.

Sprx had reconsidered his actions since he saw the star, and his change in thinking had led him to abandon a life of evil deeds.

Gibson had felt compelled to leave the underwater school, something that was rarely done on Aquarius, just to see that star.

Otto had known that something wonderful was going to happen, something that gave him the hope of facing each new day.

Nova had her doubts – that much was abundantly clear – but he knew that she had put her doubts aside and was willing to trust both her instincts and her blind faith at the same time.

But Mandarin felt something different. He knew from Varonite folklore that the birth of a star great enough to compel others to change their lives meant the birth of a hero who would also change lives. But upon each encounter with his siblings, he silently admitted more and more to himself that the hero in question was not he.

But if it wasn't he, then whom?

- - - - - - - - -

The Monkeys' stroll through the city had another interruption when they heard a voice shout, "Get him!"

"Huh?" Sprx asked as they looked as one into the open gate of a private school's playground.

Just as they did, they found a little boy no older than four running around the corner. The boy had taken no notice of the Monkeys, for he was looking back in the direction he was coming from.

He suddenly tripped over the edge of the sandbox and fell flat on his stomach, his face half buried in the sand. Grains of sand got everywhere in his face; he coughed up what little was in his mouth, he sneezed what got into his nose, and he was very grateful that the sand only got as far as his eyelashes. He shook off what was sticking to his face, although there were a lot of stubborn pieces clinging to his nice clothes.

When he turned around and looked up, he found that his pursuers had caught up with him and were glaring down at him.

One was taller than him, although not by much. He was a little bit on the chubby side in all aspects: chubby legs, chubby arms, even a chubby nose. The afro he had on his head was what probably gave him the extra height above the frightened boy.

The other was taller than both of them. Lanky and skinny, the frown on his face was the only thing that was intimidating, and very intimidating it was, too. Red freckles that were scattered across his cheeks matched his hair.

The taller of the two bullies grabbed the fallen boy. "Come on, Carrington, fork it over already, you spoiled rich brat."

"Yeah," the chubby one added. "Not like you're gonna miss it since you carry that much in those pajamas of yours every day."

"Your lunch money is gonna feed us for a whole week!"

"So hand it over!"

At this point, Nova could feel her blood boiling. Without even thinking, she screeched and activated her fists, taking into the sky just above them. The two bullies took one look at her and released their prey, who fell back into the sandbox. The Yellow Monkey snarled as she landed between them.

"Back off, creeps!" she shouted.

"Nova, don't!" Antauri exclaimed, beginning toward her with the other boys following.

Of course, the two bullies couldn't understand a word of what they said; all they did know was that a weird animal that wasn't looking too happy was screeching directly in front of them with more on their way. The two quickly turned tail and took off, shouting, "Wild monkeys! Wild monkeys!"

Nova was ready at that moment to chase them, ready to let them know what it feels like to be helplessly pursued by someone stronger than themselves, but Antauri had arrived at her side by this time and grabbed her wrist. She snarled as he physically restrained her by that one grasp. Only when she stopped struggling and calmed down did he release her.

Then, they turned their attention to the young boy, who had remained frozen in awe and fear at the sight of the Monkeys.

All five of them looked at the little boy with different forms of tenderness and sympathy in their eyes.

Nova again made the first move: she slowly approached the boy and gently grabbed his waist. He stiffened in her hands, which were back to normal at this point. He was afraid that she was going to squeeze the life out of him.

But instead, she picked him up and set him on his feet. She then gently began to brush off the sand that scraped onto the skin between his socks and shorts. After that, she slowly took off his hat, revealing a head of neatly combed black hair, and dusted the sand off it, too.

Only when she placed the hat back on his head did the little boy realize that these robotic simians mean him no harm. His blue eyes brightened with joy, and much to Nova's surprise, he suddenly hugged her.

"Thank you," he said in an adorable voice. "I always wanted a big sister."

Although startled by the hug, she smiled and gently wrapped her arms around his head to hug him back.

Just then, a limousine drove up to the gate. A butler emerged from the driver's seat, walked around the car, and opened a passenger door to reveal a woman in her late twenties. The Monkeys could tell right away that this was the boy's mother; the color of her eyes and hair matched his perfectly. "Madam Carrington…" the butler said respectfully.

"Mom!" the little boy cried excitedly, running out of Nova's arms and approaching the gate. "Mom! Look! New friends!"

Instead of giving them a confused stare or a frightened scream, the woman simply smiled back at them. "Isn't that nice?" she said in a sweet voice.

"Please, can we keep them?"

The mother chuckled. "They probably already belong to someone else."

"Aw, please, Mom! Can't we keep at least one? I want that yellow one. N-no, no, the-the green one. Hmm…no, may-maybe the red one!"

With another laugh, the mother gently took the boy by his hand. "You can play with the monkeys another day. Come on, Chiro, it's time to go home."

"Okay…" he sighed in defeat. He then looked at the Monkeys and waved. "See you again someday!"

The Monkeys watched as the butler escorted mother and son into the limousine and drove off.

"Aw, he's so cute!" Otto cooed very sweetly. "I wonder if we'll see him again."

"Unlikely," Gibson pointed out.

Just then, each of their cyber-ears extended. _"Mandarin to Monkey Team. Come in, team. Over."_

"Antauri here," the Black Monkey immediately replied. "What is it, Mandarin?"

"_Return to the Super Robot immediately. It seems that we have arrived at the right place at the right time."_

The five Monkeys glanced at each other before nodding. Then, activating their rocketpacks, they took off towards the outskirts.

- - - - - - - -

"What is that?" Nova asked, knowing that she was going to regret her answer as they stared at the image on the monitor.

Mandarin looked from the ship-like object on the screen and turned to his siblings. "Scanners detected it when it assumed a high orbit over Shuggazoom."

"Strange…" Gibson said as he looked at the data on the side of the monitor. "This ship doesn't appear to be constructed out of metal like all other spacecrafts. Analysis suggests that it consists instead entirely of… Impossible."

"You gonna share, Gibson?" Sprx asked, giving a clueless shrug.

"Analysis suggests that this ship consists entirely of bone."

"What?" Otto asked. "That doesn't make any sense. … Or does it?"

"Could it be some kind of life-form?" Antauri inquired.

"Somehow, I don't think so," Mandarin replied. "Although the scanners can't penetrate the inside, I can tell already that negative energy readings associated with it are off the charts. Whatever it is, it is evil. We must protect this planet from that evil. Our training will begin at once."

Nova stood in surprise. "Training?"

* * *

_Replies to the Reviews!_

**To AnimeQueen17:  
**Yes, Nova defeated him in two moves. We felt it would have been too short if we had her do it in just one.

**To pepperdadog:  
**Well, it kinda was intended that way. But anyway…

**To beautybelle300256:  
**Yes! Someone noticed that! There were lots of other foreshadowing moments in previous chapters, but this one was sort of the most obvious.

**To Dark Fox Tailz:**  
Can't make any promises, so don't expect anything.

**To AquaAngel13:  
**Glad to have a new fan. Yes, that was funny.


End file.
